Investment Subsidy NWO Medium

The Investment Subsidy Medium within the Division for Humanities has two types of applications: for a Start Subsidy (maximum € 35,000) and applications for a medium investement (between € 350,000 and € 1,000,000).

The aim of this subsidy is to strengthen the social sciences research infrastructure. The Divisional Board of the Division for Humanities wants to realise this objective by addressing medium-sized, research-driven, thematically organised and/or discipline wide infrastructural initiatives that promote the humanities in the Netherlands in general. Such large-scale projects with a broader scientific importance can only be realised if researchers match their research agendas with each other.

Who can apply

The target group of the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium includes Dutch universities, NWO institutes, university libraries and the information-providing scientific institutes. The KNAW institutes are excluded from participating in the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium programme on the basis of agreements between NWO and KNAW. Applications for a Start Subsidy must be jointly submitted by three applicants, each from a different university. Applications for an Investment Subsidy Medium should be made by at least two applicants, each from a different university. For an Investment Subsidy Medium an administrative and financial commitment must be provided from the relevant management body. The main applicant is the contact.

What can be applied for

The Investment Subsidy NWO Medium (size between € 350,000 and € 1,000,000) is solely intended for research-driven applications for an infrastructural facility with which the national knowledge infrastructure is strengthened.

In the proposal, the applicants should accurately and explicitly state for which research questions the proposed infrastructural facility is necessary and why. Infrastructural facilities are understood to mean: databases, digital corpora, tools, and soft and hard infrastructural resources such as hardware, software and equipment. More than previously, the proposals will have to pay specific attention to the technical aspects of the infrastructural facilities requested. For the Investment Subsidy Medium an own contribution of 25 percent of the investment costs applies.

When can be applied

• Closing date for submitting applications was 31 August 2011, 17:00 hrs

Extra Information

For the submission to the Division for the Humanities you should follow the guidelines for submission and the assessment criteria and procedure of the Investment Subsidy of the Division for the Humanities. These are based on the general guidelines for the Investment Subsidy NWO Medium. These can be found in the documentation. Here you will also find information about the Start Subsidies.

Data recording and availability
The data collections that might be produced as a result of the investment must at the end of the project be put permanently into an archive and made disposable for future scientific research. The application must specify how this is to be done. At the start of the project a data contract will be signed by the applicant and DANS (www.knaw.dans.nl) describing under what conditions and when the data will be handed over to DANS or any other ‘trusted digital repository’. More specific information is in the pdf-file ‘Data recording and availability’. Regarding applications for digitisation grants (databases) the condition applies that they must be evident, nationwide accessible contributions to the knowledge infrastructure of the field, and that purchase is impossible.

Criteria

For applications for a Medium Investment: scientific quality, societal and national importance, financial and technical criteria. The technical criteria that applications with a (digital) data component must satisfy concur with the criteria set for the DANS hallmark (such as compatibility of data, accessibility, use of standards, etc.).

Procedure

The applications are assessed by the Investments in the Humanities selection committee. External experts issue an advice to the selection committee about all of the applications under consideration. Applicants are then given the opportunity to respond to the external reports. After that they are invited for a meeting. The outcomes of the meeting influence the determination of the qualifications and the prioritisation. Subsequently the committee issues an advice to the Division for the Humanities Board, which takes the final decision. As a result of policy considerations, this decision can differ from the advice issued by the committee.

Budget

The total annual budget for this subsidy scheme within the Humanities is 1.3 million euro.

Financiers

NWO Governing Board/Humanities Division Board.

Contacts

• Mw. drs. R.M. van Kempen-Vonk
  phone: +31 (0)70 344 08 62, e-mail: r.vankempen@nwo.nl

Documentation for applying electronically